Madellaine
by adifferenttateofmind
Summary: After a tragic accident, Madellaine is sent to live with her Great Aunt Jane in London. All she wants is someone to take her away from this awful place, and her wish might just come true.


Madellaine Davis stared out the side window of the black taxi, focused on how the fat raindrops hit the glass and slid down almost on the same tracks every time in an almost methodical fashion. Focused on trying to familiarize herself in the maze of houses, all the same conventional shade of grey. Focused on anything but the taxi's suffocating mask of stale cigars and alcohol.

Slightly gagging, Madellaine glanced over at her seventeen year old cousin, Benjamin Darling, who sat like the epitome of silence. There were just enough similar attributes between their features to prove they were related: the same thin noses, the same fair skin. But after that, everything that was different was flagrant. Benjamin was tall and somewhat gaunt with chestnut brown curls that fell adjacent to his earlobes and sky blue eyes. Madellaine was tall for a thirteen years old and slender with pale blonde hair that fell in waves to her lower back and hetero-chromatic eyes, which were both grey, but the left on had a small amber patch near the top.

"Why'd you come to London anyway?" a deep voice asked, breaking the silence. Madellaine looked up at the driver, but his mouth was occupied with cursing at the sheets of rain hitting the windshield. She looked back over at Benjamin and found that his stare was locked on her.

"Me?" Madellaine asked, her voice coming out as a vulnerable squeak. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Me?"

"No, the cabbie." Benjamin blatantly rolled his eyes. Madellaine crossed her arms defensively as if to shield herself from an attack. Benjamin took no notice and continued. "Yeah, you. What are you doing, being sent here to dreary, old London? Did your parents not love you or something? Or did they just want you out of the house for a while?"

Madellaine was shocked. This was not the way she wanted her first encounter with her extended family to go. She hadn't even known her cousin for ten minutes, let alone even being able to start a conversation with him, and he was already accusing her parents of hating her. He wasn't making any allusions either, as if he actually didn't known what had happened.

Madellaine tried to form a thought that wasn't too banal, something that proved she was strong, but the waterworks got there first. The sobs wracked her shoulders and she couldn't help feeling a strong sense of hatred towards Benjamin. Everyone in the family, whether they were in London or not, had heard of the accident that caused the premature deaths of Christopher and Lily Davis.

"Whoa. Sorry." Benjamin held his hands up in defense, but didn't do anything to comfort Madellaine. Instead, he escalated the rant. "But nobody comes to live with Great Aunt Jane without a serious reason. As soon as I'm eighteen, I'm out of there. Have you ever tried to live with someone who has Peter Pan Syndrome?" He shuddered, as if it caused him pain instead of Great Aunt Jane.

"Wha-What's Peter Pan Syndrome?" Madellaine sniffled and wiped the tears off of her cheeks, fighting to stay calm against her sadness. Benjamin looked up at her with hesitation in his eyes, but succumbed to his younger cousin's question anyway.

"Peter Pan Syndrome is where the body ages, but the mind stays young forever. Basically, it causes Great Aunt Jane to stay up and speculate about a boy who lives in Neverland named Peter Pan. She's practically nocturnal now, after staying up all those night at the window."

"'ere we are, Miss." the driver interrupted in a gravelly voice worn by years of smoke. His dark brown eyes met Madellaine's in the rear view mirror. Benjamin slipped a few dollars through the slot in the glass separator before sliding out into the rain. Madellaine was a little slower in getting out and saw that the driver's reaction towards the money was anything but cheerful. She was out in the rain before he could complain about the awful payment.

Madellaine couldn't even feel the rain. It was like it wasn't even tangible compared to what sat before her. The townhouse had been in the Darling family ever since Great Great Grandma Wendy was a little girl. It stood out proudly, an enigma in the shade of lightly washed blue. It looked like a two-story sanctuary from her parent's death with two bay windows on the second floor. One of the bay windows was open and a wrinkled woman peered out of it, her powder white hair cut into a crooked bob and her blue eyes shining with hope, noticeable even from where Madellaine stood in the street.

"Oi, mom! Great Aunt Jane's in the window again!" Benjamin screamed at the townhouse, shocking Madellaine out of the daze that the house had her trapped in. She shivered and raced to the front door, which had been left open after Benjamin stormed in.

"Um…hello?" Madellaine called out softly into the empty foyer. Her voice was lost somewhere between the door and the steps that she assumed led to the second floor, devastated that the morning was not going the way she had planned. She called out again, louder this time, and was startled when footsteps sounded coming down the steps.

"I'm coming, calm down. I heard you the first time." a tired voice, probably Aunt Suzanna's, cried in reply. She turned into the foyer, her dark brown hair tied up in an intricate bun and the white dress she was wearing immaculate. The expression on her face was annoyed, but once she had studied and placed Madellaine's soaking wet form, it changed into a slightly more pleased expression. "Oh darling, why didn't you just say it was you. Come on, we have all of your bags upstairs, in Great Aunt Jane's room."

Aunt Suzanna took Madellaine's hand in hers and led her up the stairs, into the second door on the left of the hall. Inside, the bags were laid open on the bed and two figures were positioned by the window, one sitting and one standing. The room incorporated exactly what Madellaine pictures a thirteen year old's room would look like, from the magenta bedspread to the bookshelf lined with everything from fairytales to mysteries.

"MADELLAINE, I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND GREAT AUNT JANE. THIS WAS HER ROOM AND IT'S SO HARD FOR HER TO PART WITH IT." Aunt Suzanna shouted, her voice turned towards Great Aunt Jane as she let go of Madellaine's hand. Her voice echoed in the otherwise silent room. She looked hopefully at Great Aunt Jane, who just looked out the window again. With a sigh, she swooped closer to Madellaine and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry. We've been trying to move her to a different room for weeks now, but I'm sure Benjamin explained all about her PPS to you. The doctor told us it was indispensable for her to be here for a few more weeks, but we can offer her any incentives we contrive that might make her want to leave faster."

Madellaine just nodded as Aunt Suzanna straightened herself out. "BENJAMIN AND I WILL BE DOWNSTAIRS IN THE KITCHEN IF YOU NEED US." She shot Madellaine a sympathetic grin before dispatching Benjamin and herself out of the room, leaving Madellaine with the eccentric great aunt.

Madellaine stood awkwardly near the door for a minute, finding it almost impossible that the day was still going downhill, before she started unpacking her bags. Every few seconds, she would feel her gaze shifting towards Great Aunt Jane's silhouette, but she would advert her gaze at the last second, every time making her cheeks blaze red. She didn't want to come across rude, but she was so interested in the older woman and her story taht it was hard to stay away, so the quick glances had to suffice.

"She thinks I'm deaf." a new voice rang out, making Madellaine jump. It could only belong to one other person, and was surprisingly smooth for someone being so old. "She thinks I'm deaf, but I know what she's saying."

"Oh…really." Madellaine kept her head down, suddenly afraid to look over. "That's nice."

Another silence made Madellaine ponder why Great Aunt Jane had spoken. After what Aunt Suzanna and Benjamin had said, she had a picture of Great Aunt Jane being a mentally confused old lady who should be put in a home. But the way she had spoken almost made her sound…normal. Almost…young.

"Madellaine, come sit by me." Great Aunt Jane didn't look away from the window as she patted the window seat. Madellaine walked over slowly and sat down, a little perplexed at how Great Aunt Jane was acting so normal. "Do you know who Peter Pan is?"

"No…" Madellaine shook her head and turned to face Great Aunt Jane. In her fragile, wrinkled hands was a small rag doll that Madellaine had never seen before, as if it would clear up all the turmoil she was in. The doll had red hair, elf-like ears, and brown button eyes and was wearing a green tunic, green tights, and brown cloth shoes. Perched on his head was a green fedora with a red feather poking out of the side. It looked as if the hypothetical boy had been enhanced one too many times. "He doesn't look very real. He can be a well-known story or infamous, but not real."

"But he is real, Madellaine." Great Aunt Jane sighed dreamily. "I can tell you've never heard of him. Well, Peter's just about your age, not much older actually. He thought life was worthless with all the growing up business and had been taken to Neverland as a young boy by fairies. That's how he met his fairy, Tinkerbell. He was always gloating and ready to fight his lifelong enemy, the sinister Captain Hook, whose hand he had cut off and fed to the Tick-Tock croc. He thought life was just one big adventure and was always venturing off into the unknown world."

Madellaine sat in silence for a second, letting the story sink in. As she looked out the window, she noticed that the sky was getting darker and the stars were beginning to come out. One shone brighter than the rest. The one that was second to the right.

A wave of relief washed over Madellaine, only to be covered again by her fear. "I don't believe you." Madellaine whispered, shattering the peaceful feeling in the room and Great Aunt Jane's happiness. She looked over at the doll again and shook her head. "There's no such place as Neverland. No such boy as Peter Pan. And no such thing as fa-"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Great Aunt Jane screeched, slapping her hand over Madellaine's mouth. "Every time someone says that, a fairy somewhere…dies."

Madellaine removed Great Aunt Jane's hand and nodded, hoping it would appease her. Great Aunt Jane looked out the window one last time before getting up and shuffling out of the room. By now, the second star on the right was shining brightest.

As soon as Madellaine was sure Great Aunt Jane was gone, she picked up the doll and held it close. She squeezed her eyes shut and made a wish for something to help her. Anything to make her life happier.

And when she opened her eyes, there was a boy outside, staring back at her.

* * *

 **Please enjoy this one-shot as I attempt to write the sixth chapter of _Charlotte_.**

 **I've been suffering major writers block lately and decided to post a very old, rewritten story from a few years ago.**

 **Review and tell me what you think!**


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